Metallica

Metallica i/məˈtælɨkə/ is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, whose releases include fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of thefounding "big four" of thrash metal alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax.[1] They formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a localnewspaper. As of 2003, the line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett (who joined the band in 1983) and bassist Robert Trujillo (a member since 2003) alongside Hetfield and Ulrich. Previousmembers of the band are lead guitarist Dave Mustaine (who went on to found the band Megadeth), and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted. The band also had a long collaboration withproducer Bob Rock, who produced all of its albums from 1990 to 2003 and served as a temporary bassist between the departure of Newsted and the hiring of Trujillo.

The band earned a growing fan-base inthe underground music community and critical acclaim with its third album Master of Puppets (1986), described as one of the most influential and "heavy" thrash metal albums. Metallica achievedsubstantial commercial success with their eponymous fifth album (also known as The Black Album), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical directionresulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.

In 2000, Metallica was among a number of artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band's copyright-protectedmaterial for free without any band member's consent.[2] A settlement was reached, and Napster became a pay-to-use service. Despite reaching number one on the Billboard 200, the release of St. Anger (2003)alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. A film titled Some Kind of Monster documented the recording process of St. Anger and the tensions within...